On the heels of the 'official' release of the new 6 series Coupe, the press are now releasing their 6 series cabriolet reviews. Author Dave Moore writes an interesting review of the new 6 titled, "BMW's six pistol pleasure returns", citing the car's high points as: Simpler styling; technology laden; thunderous performance; useful passenger and load areas; nimble for one so big.

Low points: A bit heavy; absence of smaller engine choice; dominant iDrive screen, and overall verdict: Impressive convertible is a cinch to drive and even with all that technology, great fun.

Here are a few quotes from the article, but make sure to follow the source link at the bottom of the page to read the article in its entirety.

Quote:

while you can see just a few vestiges of the Bangle car, there are some hints of the gorgeous original in the new car with a homage to the shark- like grille and cleaner, simpler lines, and with an eye to saving weight, it has thermoplast front wings and bootlid, although it still weighs as much as an SUV - at more than two tonnes.

Quote:

The car gets over its weight penalty partly thanks to a new eight-speed ZF automatic - two ratios up on the old car's transmission - and what feels like a tauter chassis, for it never feels as heavy as the figures suggest.

Quote:

The key to the flexibility of the BMW's chassis is the 650i's switchable comfort, normal, sport and sport-plus driving dynamics settings, which affect the mapping of transmission and throttle responses, as well as steering resistance, dampers and active roll stabilisation, when fitted, and the active steering set-up, again, when fitted.

Quote:

But the quality of the cabin materials, whether it's hide, vinyl, or cut-pile carpeting, is exemplary, and the stitching, even on the smallest piece of leather, is superb. This is obviously where a lot of the money goes to - the 650i asks at least $248,500 even before you start ticking the boxes on its beguiling list of options.

I think that car is gorgeous. $248,500 though!!!!!! That's a tad pricey (I know it isn't as much in the US, and won't be in Canada either). It's gonna look great in my garage in a few years though, in M6 guise though of course

For those who don't know, there is 100% tax on luxury cars in many many countries around the world at atleast 50% on cheaper ones. People in the US and Canada bitch and moan about <10% tax on purchase price and have no clue how good they really have it. Ofcourse in those same countries other things you pay an arm and leg for in North America are cheap and have no tax. It just all depends on what things different countries want to tax and which things they don't. In many countries there 0% property tax on your home, no ridiculous health insurance $$$ ala USA, and even the best care is available for really low $$ insurance rates. Some even have free healthcare (NZ has free healthcare and theirs rates way up top to boot), In US and Canada, you pay an yearly tax on the huge amount a home costs. Add it all up over the years and you realize the guys paying US\CN $200K don't necessarily have it as bad as it may look at first. You can't compare apples to oranges in any case and looking at prices in different countries is what you are trying to do IMO.

For those who don't know, there is 100% tax on luxury cars in many many countries around the world at atleast 50% on cheaper ones. People in the US and Canada bitch and moan about <10% tax on purchase price and have no clue how good they really have it. Ofcourse in those same countries other things you pay an arm and leg for in North America are cheap and have no tax. It just all depends on what things different countries want to tax and which things they don't. In many countries there 0% property tax on your home, no ridiculous health insurance $$$ ala USA, and even the best care is available for really low $$ insurance rates. Some even have free healthcare (NZ has free healthcare and theirs rates way up top to boot), In US and Canada, you pay an yearly tax on the huge amount a home costs. Add it all up over the years and you realize the guys paying US\CN $200K don't necessarily have it as bad as it may look at first. You can't compare apples to oranges in any case and looking at prices in different countries is what you are trying to do IMO.

The outgoing M6 coupe is still for sale in Australia and priced at $313,000 AUD and the M6 cabrio is going for a whisker under $335,000 AUD. That converts to over $323,000 USD and $346,000 respectively